"This way, Hera, quick."
The two teenagers hid inside their closet. The oldest of the two grabbed her sister's hands in hers. She looked into her panicked eyes.
"I wish."
When their eyes opened they were somewhere else. Somewhere safe.
"Momma... daddy... are they...?"
Her hopeful brown eyes searched her green ones. The truth was too painful for her to say out loud so the blonde merely pulled her twin back into a tight embrace.
The brunette collapsed into her sister's arms and cried her heart out. The blonde shed quiet tears as she soothed her.
"We will be okay, Hera. I won't let anything happen to you."
They cried more tears that night than humanly possible. Eventually, however, they were too spent to continue.
"I'm going to go find wood for a fire. Stay here."
"No! Please don't leave me!"
The blonde sat back down. Her hand squeezed her sister's.
"I will never leave you, Hera. I promise."
With her last bit of magic, she wished for a fire.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
"You don't have to be here, you know!"
Gajeel glanced at the small woman next to him.
"And leave you alone with that creep?"
He pointed at Sting, who sat across the table.
"I'm not the one eating steel with his mouth open," Sting said with a smirk.
Levy, Sting and Gajeel were going through some old books looking for dragon slayer mating information. Well, Levy and Sting were. Gajeel just sat next to Levy eating metal with an annoyed look on his face. They had been at it for hours, finding little useful information.
"Whatever. Why do you need to do this at all? We just wasting time because he can't tell a girl he likes her."
Levy flicked him on the arm.
"Like I said, you don't have to be here, Gajeel."
Levy immersed herself again in the book in front of her. Sting gave Gajeel a smirk.
"Besides," Sting whispered, "you could use some lessons in how to properly show affection for the girl you like."
Sting not so subtly pointed at Levy and Gajeel turned a deep red.
"I'm running of out snacks," Gajeel said getting up.
"Can you bring me some coffee on your way back? I'm starting to get low on energy," Levy said with a yawn.
Gajeel watched the her stretch her short body in that awkward but adorable way she usually did. He ruffled her already messy hair and she swatted his hand away with that cute, annoyed expression she generally sported around him.
"I ain't your maid, shrimp."
Levy and Sting watched him walk to the bar and make an order. When he was given a bowl of metal and a cup of coffee Levy looked at Sting.
"I told ya," he chirped at the rosy-cheeked girl.
His dear children had ambushed him.
"How could you let her go on her own, Master?"
"Yeah! And why didn't you tell us she had magic at all? Why hide it?"
"A better question would be, what else are you two hiding?"
Makarov tried to keep up with the many questions Laxus, Erza and Mira had for him.
"Pops, you know how much she means to me. How could you let her go on her own? Even if she can mind read and fly, it's still too dangerous!"
"You are not the only one that cares for her, Laxus! I know the dangers, but she can handle them."
Erza let out a sad breath.
"Master, there's clearly something you are not telling us. Please."
Makarov swallowed thickly. He looked at his most trusted children. He knew he had to tell them.
"Mira, close the door."
The air in the room got heavier when the door clicked shut.
"Willa... is not who you think she is."
"What-what do you mean?"
Makarov looked up at his grandson with sadness in his eyes. Where to even begin explaining?
"How old is Willa?"
The S-class mages looked at one another.
"She joined when I was around 15? 16? She was a bit older I thought..."
"There's no way she's in her mid to late 20s, Laxus. She looks barely 18."
Erza widened her eyes at Mira.
"You're right. She looks... exactly like she did a decade ago."
Their confused stares brought Makarov to speak. His eyes drifted to a distant memory.
"Willa roamed this land for 2 years before finding us. I remember seeing her staring at the symbol over our doors. The look in her eyes... like a sailor looks at land after being lost at sea."
"This land? Where is she from?"
"Edolas."
"Edolas? I thought people from Edolas didn't have magic."
"Not anymore, Erza. Edolas has a complicated history with magic."
"Not anymore..." Erza pondered on this. "How does this relate to her age, Master?"
He decided starting from the beginning would be easier.
"Over a hundred years ago, Edolas had three wizard families from which magic stemmed from. Unlike here, magic was not something a person could develop, learn, or be gifted with. All magic users and all magic power used in Edolas descended from these three extremely powerful bloodlines until they suddenly started... disappearing."
"What do you mean suddenly disappearing?"
"Information on the subject is very difficult to find and make sense of. What I do know is that the families were increasingly involved in seemingly random accidents. Muggings gone wrong, a ship sinking, a poisonous snake sneaking into the house. One by one they were picked off. Within eight months, two of the families no longer had any living members. Their bloodline, and magic, ended."
"What about the third?" Laxus questioned.
"Because of their abilities, the few surviving members of the third family were able to sense the threat and go into hiding before it was too late. You see, each family had a specialty. One had control of the world around them- think Natsu, Wendy, Juvia. Another had enhanced physical abilities- you two would've belonged to them if this were Old Kingdom Edolas," he said pointing at Mira and Erza.
"What about the third family? What type of abilities did they have?"
"Those of the mind. Some could create vivid illusions. Others could see the future."
"Or reads minds," Mira said, making the connection.
"Yes."
"You're saying we are housing a descendant of an Old Kingdom Edolian magic family? Even if that made sense, why would you need to hide it? Like you said, this happened a century ago."
"Willa isn't a descendant," their master said.
"Master, are you saying..."
Laxus' eyes lit up. A century ago? Mind magic?
"Pops... what is Willa's real name?"
The old man took a deep breath.
"Mallory Vermillion."
Laxus let his body drop into one of the chairs. Suddenly it all made sense to him. The hair, the eyes. Everyone had an Edolas counterpart. She had always looked familiar.
"She is Mavis Vermillion's Edolas counterpart," Erza stated in shock.
Silence took them over as they processed this.
"Wait. That doesn't explain why we sent the Edolas Mavis out to possible death. Even as a powerful mind reader she can't face our enemies on her own and live."
"Mind reading is only part of her magic capabilities."
"Yeah, she has wings, but still..."
"I'm not referring to the wings," Makarov said. He looked up at them looking for a way to explain.
"Imagine if all the magic in this world belonged to only a couple dozen wizards."
Erza nodded.
"They would be extremely powerful."
"Exactly. Like I said, mind reading is only part of it. Her powers go beyond anything we could do together."
"Then why stay hidden? Why not trust us with the truth? We could've helped her so she wouldn't go through this alone. Does she think we would turn her away?"
Makarov patted Erza's shoulder.
"I don't know. But I do know it's only her love for us that has kept her from using her magic. She believes those who killed her family could use Fairy Tail to get to her. While I'm not sure I believe anyone's after her, I do agree that if knowledge of her powers reached the wrong ears..."
He didn't need to finish; they all knew what he meant.
"I can't imagine not using my magic for more than a day. Going years without it..."
"Mavis-Mallory. No magic-very powerful. 18 or 118. It doesn't matter; she is still Willa. The girl we grew up with. I hope she knows that."
"Yes, she is," Laxus said, "so that blue-haired punk better be taking good care of her because if anything-"
Laxus' overprotective-older-brother rant was interrupted by Makarov's lacrima.
"Let's call it a night," Mystogan said when they spotted a second camp site.
"Fine. But we leave at first light."
The pair swooped down and started setting up for the night. Mystogan pulled out a lacrima and contacted Makarov. Mystogan reported on the gathered information and their status. Makarov told him to carry on with their mission when they woke up.
"Please, be careful."
Mystogan gave Makarov a solemn look.
"I won't let anything happen to her."
"I know"
Their conversation ended and Mystogan turned back to Willa.
"I'm not a child, you know."
"He just worries about you."
She zipped the sleeping bag up and went inside. He came up to her and tucked the blanket around her with a soft look in his eyes. She looked away.
"Fairy Tail has been threatened many times before, Willa. Why come out now? Why this time?"
She looked up at the stars before looking back at him. Her voice was quiet.
"This is different somehow. Something about all this... feels familiar."
He took her hand in his. He knew little about her life before Fairy Tail, but that which he did know made him understand. Anything having to do with her past is very dangerous.
"I won't leave you until it is over then."
She gave him a smile. For so long she has wished she loved him the way he loved her. He was kind, strong and brave. Edolas could not ask for a better king and no girl could ask for a better guy. Why she couldn't give herself over to him was beyond her comprehension.
"Let's get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."
He nodded at her and got settled for the night.
She only let his thoughts in when necessary, but she dared open the stream now out of curiosity.
In his thoughts he had his arms around her. In his thoughts he fell asleep with her by his side, feeling her smooth skin against his. In his thoughts he told her he loved her, and in his thoughts she said she loved him back.